The euro-area economy grew at a slower pace in the fourth quarter than initially estimated, providing further evidence for the European Central Bank assessment that the currency bloc’s recovery is still fragile.

Gross domestic product expanded 0.2 percent in the three months through December, according to data posted on the website of the European Union’s statistics office. That’s down from the preliminary measure of 0.3 percent on March 5.

The revision comes as ECB policymakers gather in Frankfurt for their monthly interest-rate decision, which is scheduled to be announced tomorrow at 1:45 p.m. local time. President Mario Draghi predicted last month that a fledgling recovery from Europe’s sovereign debt crisis will gradually gain strength, while noting that the central bank stands ready to ease monetary policy further if necessary.

“Looking ahead, the ongoing recovery is expected to proceed, albeit at a slow pace,” Draghi said on March 6 after policymakers left the benchmark rate unchanged at a record-low 0.25 percent. All but three of 57 economists in a Bloomberg News survey predict the ECB will keep borrowing costs unchanged tomorrow. Credit Agricole SA and Danske Bank A/S see a cut to 0.15 percent, and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. expects a reduction to 0.1 percent.

The ECB last month forecast economic growth for the 18-nation economy of 1.2 percent this year, rising to 1.5 percent next year and 1.8 percent in 2016.

The euro-area economy grew at a slower pace in the fourth quarter than initially estimated, providing further evidence for the European Central Bank assessment that the currency bloc's recovery is still fragile.